


all these broken pieces

by VortaBurnish



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Lio has a lot of trauma, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Surviving an attempted genocide takes a toll, Vague discussion of police brutality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23105836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VortaBurnish/pseuds/VortaBurnish
Summary: In a quiet moment, Galo learns more about Lio’s past.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 9
Kudos: 190





	all these broken pieces

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the lyrics to “The Lightning Strike” by Snow Patrol.
> 
> ===
> 
> _All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us  
>  It got cold and then dark so suddenly and rained  
> It rained so hard the two of us were the only thing  
> That we could see for miles and miles_

It happens, again, on Galo’s couch in his apartment as he and Lio are watching an old, grainy monster movie on TV. Galo loves old horror movies from before the Great World Burn, though they also scare him senseless, something Lio finds both inexplicable and endearing given how unconvincing the movies tend to be. The tradition was Galo’s idea, wanting to share them with Lio, but movie night has long since stopped being about the movie - it’s an excuse to huddle together on the couch, wrapped in a shared blanket or three, staving off the cold that always seeps into Lio’s bones these days. The movie gives Galo a convenient excuse to wrap his arms around Lio and pull him close; the cold lets Lio explain away why he feels so drawn to press himself up against Galo’s warm body and rest his head on Galo’s shoulder. It’s not long before Galo is watching Lio more than the movie. It’s not long before Lio leans in to kiss him, and the movie is forgotten entirely.

It’s Lio who deepens the kiss tonight, Lio who pushes himself forward until he’s practically in Galo’s lap. Galo responds in kind, eagerly, and for a moment everything is perfect. And then, Galo’s hand is sliding up Lio’s thigh, and Lio freezes. Again.

Galo straightens up, drawing back slightly. “Lio…”

Lio sits up too, trying to steady his breathing. He forces a smile, apologetic. “Killed the mood, huh? Sorry.”

“That’s the third time you’ve pulled away when I tried to touch you.” Galo is frowning, but not like he’s unhappy. More like he’s thinking hard. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Is there something I’m doing wrong? Because I— Lio, if you don’t want to go further, we don’t have to—”

“No!” Lio answers quickly, feeling a pang of almost painful affection at the look of earnest concern on Galo’s face. He takes Galo’s hand in his, running his thumb over the firefighter’s knuckles. “No, that’s not it, I promise. I want this. It’s just…” He realizes as he’s speaking that he’s about to deflect again, and cuts himself off abruptly. He can’t, not this time. Galo deserves better than that. 

Lio takes a deep breath. He's made his peace with what’s happened to him. He has. But it’s not something he’s ever had to explain to an outsider before, and he’s unaccountably nervous. To stall for time, and also because the cheesy synth pop playing behind the movie credits is not especially conducive to a serious conversation, he reaches for the remote and mutes the TV.

Galo squeezes his hand encouragingly, and despite himself Lio smiles slightly.

“I was in Freeze Force custody more than once, before we met,” he says. He can see the confusion in Galo’s eyes, and hurries forward before Galo can interrupt him with a question. He needs to get this out all at once. “A lot, actually. Four times… five? Some of that was before I joined up with Mad Burnish.” _No, focus, Lio. Don’t deflect._ “They never managed to get me to a prison facility until I let them,” he says, with a trace of a smile on his face. “But they had me down long enough, sometimes, and… well.” He shrugs half-heartedly. “Some things became… instinctive. I’m not… not used to being touched like that by someone who’s not trying to hurt me. It gets hard to remember I’m safe. It’s not because of you, that I can promise you.”

A spark of anger flickers in Galo’s eyes before he tamps it down, taking a deep breath that Lio recognizes as his way of trying to stay calm. “Wait. Hang on. You’re saying Freeze Force officers… assaulted you? More than once?”

Lio stares at him a moment, eyes wide, caught off guard by the shock in his voice. It’s been so long since he trusted someone who wasn’t a fellow Burnish. It’s so easy to forget how little Galo _knows,_ even after everything they went through together. “You didn’t… know?” Of course Galo didn’t know. He should have realized that. It wasn’t as if the rates of sexual assault in Freeze Force custody were common knowledge. They made the Burnish go away, and that was all most people cared to know. And Galo, despite working within Kray’s anti-Burnish system, had no idea about the governor’s crimes, let alone the countless smaller, personal abuses of power that had gone on during the suppression of the Burnish.

It would have pissed him off, once. Maybe it still would from anyone else. But he knows Galo well enough to recognize his ignorance as naïveté, not willful blindness. It doesn’t sting like he thought it might. There's something oddly comforting, instead, about how horrified he looks. 

“It was extremely common, Galo,” Lio says quietly, lowering his gaze to look at their entwined hands as he spoke. “Anyone who’d been on the run very long knew what they were like. Most everyone had stories, or knew someone who did. And - the Mad Burnish had more run-ins with them than the average person. It could get ugly.”

He dares to look back up at Galo, and sees his expression filled with a mixture of horror and sorrow. “Lio, I… I didn't realize, I'm…” And then his eyes widen, his face pale. “The time we handed you over to Vulcan,” he breathes. “Was that-- afterwards-- did they…”

Lio considers, for a second, lying. But instead he nods quickly, one jerky movement. “...Yes.”

Galo recoils visibly, his face twisting with remorse. “I am so sorry,” he says softly, more subdued than Lio has ever heard him. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t- I had no idea.”

Lio shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. Truly. Our plan was to infiltrate that prison, and we went in knowing the risks.”

“Yeah, but…” Galo avoids Lio’s gaze, distraught. “I thought we were sending you to _prison._ A normal one. You know, to get what an arsonist deserved.” There’s a bitterness in his voice that usually only surfaces when he’s speaking of Kray. “And instead I was handing you over to- to be abused and _killed_ and—”

“Galo. Listen to me.” Lio gently takes hold of Galo’s chin with his free hand, lifts his head so their eyes meet. “In all the time you were working with Burning Rescue, did anyone on your team intentionally harm a Burnish you had in custody?”

“No, but—”

“Did you ever assault a Burnish?”

“What? No! Of course not! But-”

“Then I'm not blaming you.” He seizes Galo’s other hand, squeezing both of them tightly, as if he might be able to convey his feelings through skin contact alone. “If the people in power were who you believed them to be, if they were _worthy_ of the trust you gave them, then none of this would have ever happened. They used you and lied to you and I will _not_ hold you responsible for that. You didn’t deserve any of it.”

“Neither did you,” Galo says softly, and Lio’s breath catches in his throat. He looks away, and Galo lifts a hand to his face, not to redirect his gaze but to caress his cheek and tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. Lio finds himself leaning into the touch, his eyes stinging.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lio says. “It's over. Nothing that happened to me was unique, and I accepted the risks that came with what we were doing-”

“It matters,” Galo says hotly. “They _hurt you._ ” 

For some reason, the way Galo's voice breaks when he says it makes tears well up in Lio's eyes, and that alone is enough to startle him into silence for a long moment. He can't remember the last time he actually cried. Certainly not for himself. It feels… childish, self-indulgent. But Galo says nothing, silently wiping away Lio's tears with the hand that still cradles his cheek. Lio leans in toward him, burying his face on Galo's shoulder, and Galo wraps his arms around Lio's slender body, one hand on his lower back and one on the back of his neck. 

“Is this okay?” he whispers, and Lio lets out a strangled half-chuckle that's almost a sob, then nods, turning slightly to nestle his head in the crook of Galo's neck. It’s better than okay.

They’re silent for a long moment. Lio trembles silently, his face and Galo’s shoulder wet with tears that seem to have been a long time coming. There’s still a part of him that hates it - but it’s harder to keep them in, somehow, with Galo’s hand stroking his hair and Galo’s pulse beating reassuringly in his ear. He doesn’t understand, really. He's _safe,_ and that shouldn't make him feel so raw and vulnerable. It’s like a dam has broken in his chest, and a reservoir he never knew existed has come flooding out. Maybe, with the flames gone, there’s no longer anything left in him to keep the floodwaters in check.

Or maybe it’s just something about Galo that’s convinced him it’s safe to open the floodgates at last. Galo won't let him drown. He clings to that certainty like a lifeline. 

“I don’t know how long it will take,” Lio says finally, when his breathing has finally steadied. His hand clenches in the blanket still draped over them both. “I won’t make you wait for me when I-- I don’t even know what comes _next,_ let alone if this is what you want, you shouldn't have to put up with--”

“Lio?” And Lio pulls back just enough to be able to meet Galo’s eyes, gazing down at him with an intensity that warms him from the inside. Galo smiles lopsidedly, gently cupping Lio’s jaw in his hand. “Stay with me,” he says, and his soft voice sends a thrill through Lio’s body. “That’s the only thing I want. We can figure out the rest. We can do _anything._ ”

Lio gives him a slightly watery smile. Galo’s confidence has a way of making everything seem possible. Even saving the world. Even putting Lio Fotia back together. 

“Anything,” he agrees, and kisses him.


End file.
